RIYADH — Saudi Arabia reiterated on Monday that matters regarding the offshore Durra gas field, shared with Kuwait, were going ahead as planned. "The Durra field is proceeding as planned with the Kuwaitis, with no issues at this stage in terms of... the engineering and development," Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said while speaking to reporters. The Aramco chief said this following the remarks of the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani that Tehran had informed Kuwait of its readiness to resolve the Durra field file through 'technical and legal dialogue.' "We consider the issue of the Durra field as a legal and technical issue, and we stressed the rights of the Iranian people, and declared our readiness to talk with the Kuwaiti side in the framework of the negotiations," he said. Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Oil Saad Al-Barrak said on Thursday that the Iranian claims regarding the Durra field do not negate the validity of the facts on the ground, which confirm the joint ownership of the field by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Al-Barrak said in previous statements that Kuwait and Saudi Arabia would commence drilling and production from Durra field, while stressing that this "will take place without waiting for a demarcation deal with Iran." It is noteworthy that the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs had recently disclosed the reaffirmation of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait that the natural resources in the divided submerged area in the Arabian Gulf, including the entire Durra gas field, is jointly owned by the two countries. The ministry said in a statement that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait hold exclusive and full sovereign rights to exploit the wealth in that area. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait also renewed their previous and repeated calls to Iran to negotiate the eastern border of the submerged area divided between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. They proposed that the negotiations involve Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as one party and Iran as the other party, adhering to international law and principles of good neighborliness, the statement pointed out. The Durra gas field is an offshore natural gas field located in the neutral zone between Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iran. Tehran said last week that it will pursue its rights over the Durra/Arash field if other parties shun cooperation. But, Riyadh and Kuwait reject Tehran's claims over the area.
